This application claims priority to South African Patent Application No. 99/3002 filed on Apr. 29, 1999 and International Application No. PCT/IB99/01337 filed on Jul. 28, 1999 and published in English as International Publication No. WO 00/65909 on Nov. 9, 2000.
THIS invention relates to a fishing reel.
Conventional fishing reels have a reel body which is attachable to a fishing rod, a spool which is rotatable relative to the reel body and a handle for rotating the spool. Normally, the handle is connected to the spool via a gear which is arranged to transfer rotation of the handle to the spool. This gear tends to make known fishing reels relatively expensive to manufacture and includes a number of wear parts which can become damaged or worn.
It is an object of the Present invention to provide a fishing reel with an alternative mechanism for transferring rotation of the handle to the spool which is simple in construction, relatively inexpensive, and strong and durable.
According to the invention there is provided a fishing reel which is operable in one or more modes comprising:
a reel body;
a spool rotatable relative to the reel body;
a handle for rotating the spool; and
a drive bearing connecting the handle to the spool, the drive bearing including a plurality of balls and/or rollers which are mounted to the handle and which are arranged to rotate in at least one of the one or more modes of operation so that rotation of the handle at a first velocity is transferred to the spool at a second velocity greater than the first velocity.
In one embodiment of the invention, the plurality of balls and/or rollers are arranged to bear against a pair of spaced-apart bearing races, one of which is rotatably fixed relative to the reel body, and the other of which is connected to the spool. In this case, the fishing reel is designed to operate in one mode only.
In another embodiment, one bearing race for the balls and/or rollers is connected to the spool and another is arranged so that it can be selectively fixed relative to the handle or the reel body. In this embodiment, the reel can be operated in two modes. In one of the modes of operation the balls and/or rollers are rotatable so that rotation of the handle at a first velocity is transferred to the spool at a second velocity greater than the first velocity, and in the other mode of operation the balls and/or rollers are held between the bearing races so that rotation of the handle at a first velocity is transferred directly to the spool at the first velocity.
The bearing race which can be fixed relative to the handle or the reel body may be located on a rotatable member which is connectable to the reel body or the handle by means of a switching device. In one arrangement, the switching device is axially movable between a first position in which it engages the reel body so as to be rotatably fixed relative to the reel body, and a second position in which it is disengaged from the reel body and is rotatably fixed relative to the handle.
Preferably, the reel includes at least one anti-reverse bearing which is arranged to allow the handle to rotate in one direction only.
In a particularly preferred form of the invention, the reel includes an adjustable drag unit which is arranged to apply lateral loads to the spool via the drive bearing so as to resist rotation of the spool. In this case, a thrust bearing may be provided between the spool and the reel body.
The drag unit may comprise two members which are threadably engageable with one another, one of the members being linked to the reel body and the other of the members being linked to the handle so that suitable rotation of the drag unit members relative to one another causes the members to be drawn together and to apply a clamping load to the spool between the handle and the reel body.